On My Way
by insynchlikeharmony
Summary: "It's now or never." Finn and Rachel are finally getting married! They wouldn't let anything, especially a blonde cheerleader, stop that, right? *based on events in 3x18 & eventual follow-up*


50 MPH. 60 MPH. 70 MPH.

Speed limit: 45MPH

Rachel tapped the brake intermittently.

"No, Quinn wouldn't want me to get in an accident on her account."

As her car got closer and closer to 45, she wiped at her dry tear stains and wiped away the fresh tears forming at the thought of Quinn's mangled body in a hospital bed. She was 5 minutes, give or take, from the hospital that Quinn was taken to.

 _"It's now or never."_

 _Finn's ultimatum echoed in her head as it hung over them like a late morning fog. She couldn't get married without Quinn present, but she couldn't tell Finn that and make him seem second fiddle. She reached for her phone._

 _To: Quinn; "Where are you? I'm waiting for you. Please hurry!"_

 _After a minute or two of pacing, her phone vibrated._

 _To: Rachel; "On my way!"_

 _Rachel's smile returned at reading the text._

 _"She's coming, you guys!" she exclaimed to her fellow peers. They were all excited to hear the news, with Santana even giving a crooked smile; the lone exception was Finn, who had just re-entered the room._

 _"Great, I'm glad you're happy that Quinn's coming. But it doesn't matter."_

 _Rachel turned toward him, "What do you mean it doesn't matter?"_

 _He looked back and forth between her and the rest of the group gathered._

 _"It doesn't matter because there's no wedding!"_

 _Everybody let out an audible gasp followed by screams of 'Why?!' and 'Wow, what a shock' (the latter being from the parents of the bride-to-be, but still)._

 _Rachel stared directly into his eyes, "What do you mean there's no wedding? We've had this planned for days!" He sighed._

 _"When I told you it's now or never, I meant just that; our wedding started at 5:00pm. It's now 5:05pm; we missed our slot."_

 _She looked guilty that all their work for this day was for nothing._

 _"Although I have to be honest, I don't like how you have to have Quinn here before you get married."_

 _Rachel didn't like what he was implying and she already felt bad enough about the whole thing._

 _"Excuse me for wanting all of my friends at my wedding!" she lashed out while trying not to break down._

 _Finn softened his expression. "I'm not mad at you for that. I'm mad that Quinn has to come before your future husband."_

 _Rachel stood dumbfound, unsure of how she could refute his claim._

 _"Finn, you know.."_

 _Just as she was going to attempt to clear the air, Don't Stop Believin' blared across the room._

 _"Oh, I'm sorry guys. Must've forgotten to set it to silent." Mr. Schuester explained frantically before answering his call._

 _"Hello?... Oh my God, is she alright?" he said with a panicked expression. There was a long pause before he finally said, "Okay, thank you."_

 _He clicked 'end' and slid the phone back into his pocket. He looked at the Glee club as well as his fellow adults._

 _"What is it, Mr. Schue?" A good portion of them said in unison._

 _Rachel had a sinking feeling in her stomach, but brushed it off hoping it was nothing._

 _"That was the hospital. Quinn was in an accident." He said with a grim expression._

 _They all displayed different emotions, with some asking more questions to get the whole sotry or breaking down and wondering when they could see her._

 _"This is all my fault. I should have been texting her and rushing her." Rachel whispered to herself._

 _Images of Quinn's mutilated body being pulled from the wreck and carried off on a stretcher plagued Rachel's thoughts. She couldn't stand around not knowing. She picked up her purse and was starting for the exit._

 _"Where are you going?" Finn asked in a bitter tone._

 _She gave him a pleading look, "I have to make sure she's alright." With no more explanation, she continued out the door without looking back._

 _Hiram leaned over LeRoy and whispered, "I always liked Quinn." He sat there in silent agreement while Finn took out his frustration on the nearest chair._

 _Outside the chapel, Rachel slammed her door shut and was now openly sobbing over her steering wheel. She yanked a tissue from the box and began dabbing her eyes._

 _"She's going to be fine. She has to be."_

She pulled into a parking spot just outside the entrance. She mentally patted herself on the back for stopping at the local store to grab Quinn something: A 'Get Well Soon!' balloon with hearts all over as well as a gardenia for her bedside table. Just as she she was about to turn the car off, a familiar song started playing.

 **I can't win, I can't reign, I will never win this game without you, wihtout you; I am lost, I am vein, I will never be the same without you, without you...**

She remembered singing this song to Finn a few weeks back; and then she thought back to his insecurities showing when he told her he didn't like being a lower priority than Quinn. Listening closer to the lyrics, maybe she should have sung it for Quinn...

Wait, where did that thought come from?

Shaking it off, she turned off the vehicle and headed for the entry. Reprimanding herself silently, she realized in the heat of the moment that she forgot to ask Mr. Schuester what floor they had Quinn on. Standing there looking like an idiot would not help her situation. With gifts in hand, she marched up to the information desk.

"How may I assist you?" the squat receptionist asked.

"I need to know what floor Quinn Fabray is staying on." she said as calmly as she possibly could.

"Fabray... Fabray..." she mumbled to herself as she flipped through the patient information sheets. "She was admitted so recently that all we know down here is she's somewhere on the 2nd floor."

Rachel quickly thanked her before heading off in search of the nearest bank of elevators. Turning down the first corridor she approached, she spotted them. Hopping on the one still open, she hit the '2' button. As the doors were closing, she listened closely to the soft music playing through the speakers.

 **Keep holding on, 'cause you know we'll make it through, make it through; just stay strong, 'cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you...**

Rachel felt fresh tears were on the verge of pouring out, but held it in, not wanting to seem like 'the girl who cries over Avril Lavigne songs in elevators'. That didn't stop her from reminiscing back to the Glee club's rendition of the same song to support Quinn through her pregnancy. She remembered seeing the sadness reflected in Quinn's eyes; no doubt in anticipation of her parents' reaction to the news as well as the whole school finding out. Rachel tried her best to stop this from happening in the first place (even going as far as to giving Jacob a pair of her panties to keep him from publishing the story). Sue ended up becoming too much to overcome and the truth came out. Rachel reached forward and grasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and flashing her a radiant smile. The door had creaked open, but Rachel was unaware of her current surroundings.

"Isn't this the floor you wanted, dear?" one of the others riders had asked her.

Snapping out of it, Rachel thanked the older woman who brought her back to reality and headed toward the nurse's station straight ahead.

"May I help you?" one of the nurses inquired.

She placed both hands on the counter and said, "Quinn Fabray's room number, please."

The nurse tapped her fingers on the patient list. "I'm sorry to say, but only family members are allowed to visit at this time."

Rachel stood rooted to her spot, unable to accept this answer. "No offense, but I'm the closest thing to family she's got."

The nurse gave her a challenging before saying, "I'm sorry, hun, but the only people on this list to see her, until she's healed up a bit, is her immediate family."

Rachel's face scrunched up at the thought of her father, the same man who threw Quinn out of the house for being pregnant, being able to visit her before she could. Not that he would, of course.

"You can't make this one exception?" she asked, despair etched on her face.

"You're not immediate family. Come back tomorrow and hopefully her condition improves enough you'll be allowed in."

Seeing all of her attempts rejected, she had one idea left.

"But she's my girlfriend..."

All three nurses stopped what they were doing, as they found staring at the brunette much more fascinating.

"We have no record of Quinn Fabray having a significant other." The lead nurse stated dryly.

"That's because her parents don't know. Do you have any idea how much this would upset them?"

The nurses all marveled at her.

"Uhm, explain the dress." Rachel looked down and saw she was still wearing her wedding gown from her now-postponed 'Finchel' wedding, as Tina dubbed it.

"What else do you wear to a wedding?"

Putting 2 and 2 together, the nurse looked to her fellow nurses, giving them a curt nod. "She's in Room 218, dear. Just down there and on the right.

Rachel's smile returned and she thanked each of them before rushing off to Quinn's room. She approached the door and glanced inside. The blonde was laying motionless on the bed, cuts and scrapes gracing her normally pristine face. Rachel made her way over to her bedside and tied the balloon to the post before setting the gardenia on the table. She pulled a chair close and once she was seated, her hands roamed under the sheets in search of her own hand. Finding it at her side, she gripped it with both of hers and just held on. Unsure what to say, she kept her hands around Quinn's, giving it a gentle squeeze every so often, hoping for something, anything to happen; a smile, a gasp, a return squeeze.

"Excuse me, just gotta change her fluids." One of the nurses from the station entered the room and began swapping out the bags of fluid.

"Is she conscious or..." Rachel began but couldn't finish, unable to say the words "Quinn" and "coma" in the same sentence.

"Oh, I'm sorry, nobody told you her status! The thoughts that must be running through your head!"

She gave a half-hearted 'tell me about it' smile before saying, "So... she's okay, right?"

The nurse nodded while saying, "All and all, yes. A few cracked ribs and bruises. Otherwise, she's just napping."

"Do you mind if I wait until she wakes up?" Her smile turned into a more genuine one.

"As if we have a choice! Do you think we would be able to tear you away from her?" She chuckled as she showed herself out of the room.

Her comment may have been made in jest, but it would take a lot to uproot her.

"I just need you to be well, Quinn." One hand remained on hers while the other lightly caressed her cheek. She tucked a stray blonde strand behind her ear before leaning forward to plant her lips on the corner of her mouth.

"Wha- Why are you.. Did you just kiss me, Berry?" She finished in a higher pitch than usual.

Rachel jumped out of her seat and enveloped her in a tender hug before pouring her a glass of water from the pitcher nearby.

"You got in an accident. Because of me and I'm so sorry." She sniffled thinking how much worse it could have been.

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have been texting and driving. I should have just called you. Or you could have gone ahead without me. I shouldn't have been late."

"I couldn't go through with it if you weren't there, Quinn. I made my choice... and it was you."

"So, I shouldn't get used to Rachel Hudson?" Quinn said with a wry smile on her face, although she couldn't be more thrilled on the inside.

Definitely not. I like my last name, thank you very much. Although if the nurses ask, it's Berry-Fabray."

Her eyes grew to the size of saucer plates hearing this, "You didn't! Did you- Is that why you kissed me?" She genuinely asked, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

"I kissed you because you're the prettiest girl I've ever met, Quinn. But you're a lot more than that."


End file.
